"At the same time, women are bearing the brunt of cuts to benefits - £11bn of the £18bn cut through changes to tax and benefits each year is coming from women's pockets," she said.

"Decades of steady, albeit slow, progress on equality for women is being dismantled, as cuts to women's jobs and the benefits and services they rely on turn back time on women's equality."

A report by the society found that two thirds of local government jobs cut belonged to women. The report measured employment in that sector from the first quarter of 2010 and the second quarter of 2011.